Letter
by Ellie1
Summary: [TezukaFuji] Tezuka is getting ready to leave, but Fuji gives him a letter to read on the plane. Bittersweet oneshot.


Title: Letter  
  
Author: Ellie  
  
Pairings: Tezuka/Fuji  
  
Sum: Tezuka is leaving, Fuji gives him a letter before he goes.  
  
Notes: This came into my head while I was working on my Inui/Kaidoh fic, and told me that I couldn't do anything until I wrote it, so I did. I never really saw Tezuka and Fuji as actually having a real relationship at the point that the show is in, but I do believe that there is something there between them. In the end, I wasn't completely happy about the way this turned out, but it was really the ending that pushed me to write this.  
  
----  
  
It was his team. They were his friends, his boys, and his responsibility. And yet, he had to leave them. For their future he had to sacrifice that which he held most dear. He had always heard the girls in his class talking their important people. The team was part of him, another limb, and then there was his important person. Tezuka looked away from the courts, unable to watch them playing happily anymore. His shoulder throbbed agonizingly, but he refused to take painkillers. If he couldn't handle that little bit of pain, then how was he supposed to handle the emotional pain of his choice?  
  
He was leaving. Going off to a place where no afternoon train ride could bring him back home. Perhaps if there were a definite date as to when he would be able to go return the hurt would lessen, but no. Indefinite. Unknown. Impossible was the next word that he thought of, but he kicked that thought away. He would come back, no matter what. Definitely, for the sake of his team and the people he had dedicated his life to, he would return to guide them through the remainder of their challenges. To come back stronger, that was his goal. But to get to that strength, he had to make a few sacrifices.  
  
Tezuka's gaze shifted back to the courts, and then to Fuji. Sacrifices indeed. Both of them had known the day would come that he would have to leave, and because of that he had refused to let anything go on between them. He had never wanted to lie to Fuji, or have to deny his feelings; but it was for the best in the end. With nothing between them, Fuji would have the ability to completely focus on his game and not have any unnecessary worries.  
  
Fuji. Syuusuke. Tennis prodigy. Friend. Tezuka had come to rely on him to always be there at his side for whatever happened to the team. It seemed that the only person that could really understand all that went on inside of him was Fuji. The captain had come to rely on and take comfort in his presence. They had never needed to speak to understand each other, but they would usually have a few bits of tennis conversation thrown in just for the sake of conversation and to cover up any of the unspoken feelings, but neither boy had ever dared to bring up anything more.  
  
In the end, Tezuka knew Fuji was frustrated with not ever being able to feel any reciprocation, but maybe after he returned that could be changed. Once there was a clear path for the two, a few distractions could be created.   
  
Tezuka hated the unknowns that had developed, but once again, he righted his mind back on to the course that was needed: afternoon practice, and his last one with Seigaku for a long time. All of the members knew their duties, so he decided to leave a little early and let Oishi get some practice of making sure that all of the necessary things got taken care of.   
  
As Tezuka was in the clubhouse changing back into his regular school uniform, Fuji walked in. His smiled was present, but once the door clicked closed, his eyes opened and it disappeared. "So, you're leaving tomorrow." It wasn't a question or comment, but a statement, and said with a tone that meant he wasn't expecting any kind of conversation to come after it.  
  
Tezuka looked up and into Fuji's eyes, but was forced to look back to his bag. Something about the glare his friend was giving him made his chest hurt. Then after a few moments, he heard Fuji's breathing alter sharply, and prepared himself for a confrontation.  
  
"Tezuka, I'm not questioning your decision, you know what you want, and it is not my place to block you or come between that in any way. But…but when you come back, maybe…" he trailed off and looked away for a second. When he glanced back up, his normal self had returned in full force, "No, never mind that," he said shaking his head, and then reached into his pocket to pull out a crisply folded note in the shape of a star. "You should open this when you're on the plane, and no peeking until then! Not that you would in the first place, but I want you to wait until you're a thousand miles away from here and from--" his voice caught in his throat where his brain and his heart had sent in colliding words. When he was able to sort out the signals, all that came out was a strained and quiet "us." Solemnly, he placed the note on the bench and left the room leaving Tezuka to fill in the gaps of what he had said.  
  
The next day, somewhere over a never-ending body of water, Tezuka opened the note.  
  
"When you are ready, I will be waiting," was all that it said. As Tezuka folded it back up and replaced it within his bag, he smiled for the first time with hope for the future. 


End file.
